“Patrick Kane suffered a broken left clavicle on February 24, and underwent successful surgery to repair the fracture on February 25. Patrick has been working extremely diligently with his rehabilitation and has recently returned to full-contact practice without any difficulty. After discussions with Patrick and the team, and examining Patrick today, we collectively feel it is appropriate, with minimal risk, for him to return to full participation.”

If he plays in Game 1 on Wednesday, it would be seven weeks since he was sidelined.

“I’ve done a lot to try to get myself, whether it’s healed as fast as possible or feeling good as fast as possible, whatever you want to call it,” Kane said following today’s practice. “I’ve done a lot of different things to try and make that happen.

“I’m pretty happy with the progress so far.”

The 26-year-old had 27 goals and 64 points in 61 games prior to being sidelined.

Kane practiced with Chicago on Monday, the latest step in what’s been a quick recovery from an injury that was supposed to sideline him up to three months. The former Conn Smythe winner broke the collarbone on Feb. 24 against Florida and underwent surgery shortly thereafter but, much like Minnesota’s Jason Zucker did following the same injury, resumed skating far quicker than expected.

Should Kane play in Game 1 against Nashville, his return would be even quicker than Zucker’s — seven weeks to Zucker’s eight — but the 26-year-old said he pushed himself to speed up the rehab process.

“I’ve done a lot to try to get myself, whether it’s healed as fast as possible or feeling good as fast as possible, whatever you want to call it,” he explained, per the Chicago Tribune. “I’ve done a lot of different things to try and make that happen.

“I’m pretty happy with the progress so far.”

For what it’s worth, Kane took his usual line rushes alongside Kris Versteeg and Brad Richards on Monday, and practiced on the club’s first power-play unit.

Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane is expected to be cleared for full contact practice on Monday.

According to Pat Boyle of CSN Chicago, Kane, who has been out of the lineup since Feb. 24 with a fractured left clavicle, has benefited from on-ice workouts while Chicago concluded the regular season on a two-game road trip.

Boyle reports that Kane is probable for Game 1 on Wednesday when the Blackhawks visit the Nashville Predators.

Kane was on pace for a career year with 27 goals and 64 points in 61 games prior to being sidelined.

The Western Conference lacked the East’s drama on Saturday, as the biggest jaw-dropper happened on Thursday instead. Let’s take a look at the four series in the West’s first round.

With a tight win against the Arizona Coyotes tonight, the Anaheim Ducks nabbed the first spot in the West (they clinched the Pacific long ago). They won’t get an easy draw despite this designation, however, as the Winnipeg Jets come in as one of the hottest teams with Ondrej Pavelec riding a stunning wave of success.

The St. Louis Blues managed to win a typically brutal Central Division before tonight’s win against the Minnesota Wild, their first-round opponent. Considering all the players resting in Saturday’s contest, that didn’t really qualify as much of a primer for what could be a skin-tight series.

Closing out the Pacific side, you have another all-Canada series as the Vancouver Canucks take on the Calgary Flames. The two franchises haven’t met since Calgary won a seven-game series on its way to losing in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, and the series’ best days really came with three straight postseason squabbles from 1982-1984. The Flames have won four of six postseason meetings, yet the Canucks play the role of favorites this time around.

The Central Division’s No. 2 vs. 3 match is captivating, as the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks both had very real chances to win the top spot. Instead, they fell short and must gut out what could be a thrilling series, especially since Patrick Kane seems like a long-shot to play. Predators fans probably haven’t forgotten out a tough series loss to Chicago back in 2010.